


Meeting Nina

by The_LupercalXVI



Category: Warhammer 40.000, Warhammer 40k (Novels) - Various Authors
Genre: Baby, Gen, Loyalist, custodian, imperium
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 11:10:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20974940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_LupercalXVI/pseuds/The_LupercalXVI





	Meeting Nina

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moreagaara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moreagaara/gifts).

****

There were always strange miracles in the Imperium, even after the Emperor moved from Master to Throne. Naevius, Shield Captain of the Custodian Guard, had often grown restless with waiting for the Emperor to either wake up, or more likely, die. And when off duty—rare, but it happened—he found himself deep in ale cups of any bar he could find, palace or elsewhere on Terra.

It had been years since he left Terra, back when the Great Crusade was on everyone’s minds, and back when he was barely a Custodian. He remembered all too vividly, rubbing the scars on his nose, when they found Horus Lupercal, Traitor and Arch-Heretic. A child, almost feral, roaming the tunnels of that Throne-forsaken cesspit called Cthonia. The child was a nightmare for several weeks, then slowly became one of their own. A brother. A leader. And then a traitor.

_Don’t think about it, Nae,_ he told himself, adjusting his spear as he glanced silently towards the door he guarded. Behind it was the Throne room. His father, his teacher, the Man who gave him a chance to be more than an orphan, was little more than a corpse with a breath of life tickling at the exposed bones.

_What I would give to drive my spear through Horus’s chest,_ Naevius thought, unmoving as the other Custodians switched shifts. And while all seemed grim and hopeless, there were still those minor, strange miracles that popped up to keep things going back towards bright.

Roboute Guilliman had been returned to life and was able to keep the High Lords in check. The Imperium survived the 13th Black Crusade, if sundered in two for a long time. Connections were still difficult over the damned rift, but they existed again. But of all of these, there was one thing that stood out most of all to Naevius.

Constantin Valdor, Chief Custodian, had returned from his sudden, unexpected travel into the void. His words as he left echoed so long in the ears of those he left behind. The unfinished oath they all made. _Only in death does duty end._ The oath the Custodians made, the Space Marines after them, and the Inquisition after that. Guardsmen and women made that oath. Sisters made the oath. Despite Chaos and the Imperium constantly clashing, that one thing united them. The fight, the _duty_, would not end until all of one side were dead.

Neither side showed any sign of stopping.

And while Naevius respected a good fight, his job was to protect the Emperor. To defend his Father with his life, spear, and shield. But the longing to see worlds pass him beneath his feet did not go away. He wanted to be outside of the palace. Traveling the stars, learning new paths, where to go, how to go—he just wanted to be anywhere but standing at the same post 22 hours a standard day.

Then his private vox clicked open and he heard a warm female voice.

“Nae-nae, I know you’re at work, but I’ve got news for you,” she said. He listened, unable to respond and maintain his guard. He hoped she was going to tell him what she wasn’t wearing when he heard a small child coo. His hearts sped up. He swallowed hard. The child—a little girl—cooed again.

_Throne help me, that’s not possible,_ he thought, waiting for the woman, Brea, his current partner, to speak. He considered. He couldn’t be the father. He was older than most of the people alive. He was a Custodian. He was known to be sterile. He also used a condom just in case things went crazy. There was no way Naevius Cato was the father of a child.

“This is your daughter, Nina. I’ll send picts. Can you come by after work? I think you should meet her,” Brea said, the infant girl giggling and blubbering silly sounds at her mother.

“Brea how the hell—are you sure it’s mine I mean—how the hells am I a father—I swear I shoot blanks—there is no fuckin’ way I made that baby—I’ll be there in an hour.”

Naevius clicked off his private vox, took a sharp, deep breath and then dialed Constantin’s vox code. There was a pause, then a cool voice answered.

“Yes, Shield Captain? Is something amiss?” Constantin asked. His voice was always cool, calm, and lacking major emotions unless angry.

“Con I need help I made a baby and I don’t know what to do,” Naevius sputtered, almost dropping his spear. He regained composure quickly when a younger Custodian looked at him, confused.

_Only in death does duty end. Making babies is not death. Is it?_ Naevius thought, waiting for Constantin to give him some form of order. Praying to the Throne, the Emperor—knowing that would just irritate his Father if he were complete—and almost praying to the Chaos fiends that he was having a nightmare. The wait was killing him. His eyes were watering under his helmet, his feet barely able to remain still. He shivered slightly, hoping it didn’t show through his armor.

“You made a baby? Who is the mother?” Constantin asked, voice still calm.

“My girlfriend Brea. She said I have a daughter, Nina.” Naevius stated. It wasn’t sinking in. He wasn’t supposed to be able to make babies. It was part of the sacrifice of being a Custodian.

“Your replacement is on the way. You come to me as soon as he gets there.”

“Yes sir,” Naevius stated, clicking off his vox. Within two minutes, his backup arrived. He nearly ran to the Officer’s Barracks, throwing his helmet off and clanging his spear into a rack. Constantin stood at the door; arms crossed.

“You fathered a child?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Naevius mumbled, looking at his superior desperately. Then yet another miracle struck. Constantin Valdor grinned.

“Let’s go see, then. I’m sure you know where your lovely girlfriend lives?”

Naevius stood there, shocked. He ran his hands through his long red mohawk, staring at Constantin. He didn’t know what else to do. Custodians were trained for combat stress, not emotional stress of this caliber. A thousand daemons could attack and Naevius wouldn’t break a sweat. But he made a baby and made his stoic boss grin. The galaxy was ending.

“Cato, get a grip, it’s an infant, not a daemonette,” Valdor stated, putting a firm hand on Naevius’s shoulder. He shook Naevius gently, who in turn nodded and headed towards Brea’s alcove in the palace. He was shaking when they got to the door and he knocked firmly. But when Brea opened the door with the tiny bundle in her arms, all his nervous melted away. His eyes softened, and he reached for the little girl who blinked at him. She stuck out her chubby little arms for him to take her, and Naevius pulled her against his chest, cautious of the armor decorations.

“Nina,” he whispered, noting her bright red hair and bright green eyes. Just like his. Impossible or not, she was his. And impossible or not, life had happened, and he held it in his arms.

“Congratulations, Shield Captain Naevius Cato and Brea,” Constantin stated quietly. There was no need to do a blood test to determine parentage, anyone with common sense could see the child belonged to Naevius. Legally, however, they would have to prove it. The High Lords were a special breed of fool, after all.

“Con, you have to hold her,” Naevius said, adjusting the Chief Custodians arms to hold the tiny baby. He then gently put her in Constantin’s arms and smiled.

“That’s your Uncle Connie, Nina,” Naevius said.

“I’ve told you not to call me that, Nae-nae,” Constantin retorted, looking down at the wide-eyed bundle in his arms.

“She’s nine months old, for the record,” Brea stated, clearly relieved that she would receive help with the baby.

“You waited to inform, why?” Constantin said as a pudgy hand poked his cheek.

“I’ve actually been keeping her mostly hidden save for the few other palace attendants that come in here. I didn’t want her to be taken to become a Sister just because of her heritage…I wanted her to have a life, for a while, outside of the grim. Outside of combat. I know it goes against custom; I will accept punishment—”

“No punishment, Brea,” Constantin said as he handed the child back to her father. “You have given this tiny miracle a chance to become something of her own will. And you have shown her peace in a time where peace is nearly impossible. The Emperor himself would praise your bravery.”

Brea blushed brightly and looked at the floor. Then Nina giggled, clapped her hands together, and gurgled out her first word. “Dada.”

Naevius grinned more and hugged her close, then looked at Constantin and Brea. He took in a deep breath to keep himself from giggling, then after calming down, quietly whispered, “I’m Dada.”


End file.
